How do SA Universities compare?

These South African university courses are among the best in the world

We are often quite critical about what we perceive to be a lowering of standardsin respect of our universities. Every year QS World University Rankings publish a wide range of different rankings, this one ranks courses offered at South African universities, and how they rank in the top 500 universities globally.

There are 20,000 registered universities globally, nine of the 23 South African universities rank in the top 800, or the top 4% depending on how you look at it.

As an observation, one of the things that struck me looking at these photographs is just how beautiful and well-designed are universities are (Steuart Pennington)

The latest QS World University Rankings has listed all the subjects that South Africa’s top universities excel at in 2018 – ranking among the top 500 courses in the world.

The report covers 42 subjects in arts and humanities; engineering and technology; life sciences and medicine; natural sciences; and social sciences.

South African universities stand out for their expertise in development studies, QS said, while South Africa’s top-ranked university – the University of Cape Town – ranked within the top 100 globally for 11 subjects.

Overall, UCT has 35 subjects ranked within the top 500 universities in the world (all within the top 350), while the University of the Witwatersrand has 21 subjects within the top 500. This is followed by Stellenbosch University with 18 subjects, the University of Pretoria with 15 subjects, UKZN with 8, the University of Johannesburg with 4 and Rhodes university with 2 subjects.

Five of South Africa’s universities perform strongly in developmental studies, with the subject being the highest-ranked subject at UCT, Stellies, UJ and UKZN. At Wits, the subject is the second strongest subject, after mining and mineral engineering, where Wits ranks as the 15th best university in the world for that subject.

Wits is also the only university in South Africa ranked for mathematics.

The University of Pretoria and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, meanwhile, are also the best universities in the country theological and religious studies, and Rhodes makes its mark known in communication and media studies.

The tables below outline the top subjects to study at South Africa’s ranked universities. Subjects within the top 100 are highlighted in green.

University of Cape Town

Subject

Global ranking

Development Studies

11

Sports-Related Subjects

37

Archaeology

38

Geography

49

Architecture

51-100

English

51-100

Agriculture & Forestry

51-100

Anatomy & Physiology

51-100

Anthropology

51-100

Law

51-100

Social Policy & Administration

51-100

History

101-150

Medicine

101-150

Earth & Marine Sciences

101-150

Environmental Sciences

101-150

Communication & Media Studies

101-150

Education

101-150

Politics & International Studies

101-150

Sociology

101-150

Art & Design

101-150

Linguistics

101-150

Civil Engineering

151-200

Biological Sciences

151-200

Pharmacy & Pharmacology

151-200

Psychology

151-200

Physics & Astronomy

151-200

Accounting & Finance

151-200

Business & Management Studies

151-200

Modern Languages

201-250

Chemical Engineering

201-250

Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering

201-250

Electrical Engineering

251-300

Economics & Econometrics

251-300

Computer Science & Information Systems

301-350

Chemistry

301-350

University of the Witwatersrand

Subject

Global ranking

Mineral & Mining Engineering

15

Development Studies

19

Archaeology

51-100

Anthropology

51-100

Earth & Marine Sciences

101-150

Geography

101-150

Architecture

151-200

English

151-200

Medicine

151-200

Law

151-200

Politics & International Studies

151-200

Education

201-250

Sociology

201-250

Linguistics

251-300

Chemical Engineering

251-300

Agriculture & Forestry

251-300

Pharmacy & Pharmacology

251-300

Biological Sciences

351-400

Mathematics

351-400

Chemistry

401-450

Physics & Astronomy

451-500

Stellenbosch University

Subject

Global ranking

Development Studies

44

Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies

51-100

Agriculture & Forestry

51-100

Geography

151-200

Law

151-200

English

201-250

Linguistics

251-300

Chemical Engineering

251-300

Medicine

251-300

Environmental Sciences

251-300

Business & Management Studies

251-300

Education

251-300

Biological Sciences

301-350

Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering

351-400

Economics & Econometrics

351-400

Computer Science & Information Systems

401-450

Chemistry

401-450

Physics & Astronomy

451-500

University of Pretoria

Subject

Global ranking

Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies

51-100

Agriculture & Forestry

101-150

Archaeology

151-200

Architecture

151-200

Law

151-200

Education

201-251

Chemical Engineering

251-300

Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering

251-300

Sociology

251-300

Electrical Engineering

301-351

Economics & Econometrics

301-351

Biological Sciences

351-400

Medicine

351-400

Computer Science & Information Systems

401-450

Chemistry

451-500

University of KwaZulu-Natal

Subject

Global ranking

Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies

51-100

Development Studies

51-100

Agriculture & Forestry

201-250

Education

251-300

Medicine

351-400

Chemistry

351-400

Biological Sciences

451-500

Physics & Astronomy

451-500

University of Johannesburg

Subject

Global ranking

Development Studies

51-100

Geography

151-200

English

251-300

Law

251-300

Rhodes University

Subject

Global ranking

Communication & Media Studies

151-200

English

201-250

The QS subject rankings are based on a mix of survey responses and hard data, compiled and weighted to formulate a final score.

This includes academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper, the h-index (an index that measures both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar) as well as insight from discipline-level experts and specialists.

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